WESLEY SEALE
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the African Union. According to African leaders at the time, there was a need to relaunch the Organisation of African Unity, founded on Africa Day in 1963, to shift the focus away from the independence of states and fighting apartheid. Instead, in 2002, concentration now had to be given to the continent’s cooperation, integration, economic and human development.
Part of this recent history of the African continent, led by the AU, has been the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), established in 2000. Whilst Chinese cooperation with the African continent goes back many centuries, China played a particularly important role in the struggle for independence as well as ensuring the development of countries on the continent post-independence.
The AU’s Agenda 2063, launched in 2015, set high targets for infrastructure. Yet China was leading with infrastructure development in Africa as early as the late 1960’s.
Most notable among these infrastructure projects was the Tazara Railway which was a joint project between Tanzania, Zambia and China. The nearly 2000-kilometre railway line connects the town of Kapiri Mposhi, in land-locked Zambia, to the port city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In today’s value, the project is estimated to have cost nearly US$3 billion.
The 20th anniversary celebration of the AU was therefore an appropriate backdrop to the recent meeting on the implementation of the follow-up actions of the eighth ministerial conference of the FOCAC.
Held via video-link and co-hosted by Wang Yi, Chinese state councillor and minister of foreign affairs, together with Aïssata Tall Sall, the minister of foreign affairs and Senegalese abroad of the Republic of Senegal, the meeting was also attended by government representatives from Angola, the DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and South Africa.
Recalling the Dakar Declaration, the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035, the Declaration on China-Africa Cooperation on Combating Climate Change as well as the Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024), the meeting appreciated the strengthening of China-Africa relations through a spirit of friendship, unity, trust and respect.
China and Africa, also reaffirmed their commitment to upholding the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, the UN-centred international system as well as the responsibility if the UN Security Council to maintain international peace and security.
In a time when international law is often flouted by some western countries, the representatives from China and Africa pledged to respect and strengthen multilateralism and advancing democracy in international relations. Commitment was also promised to ensuring the equality of nations and their sovereignty, despite their size, strength, and wealth.
China also expressed its commitment to the 35th ordinary session of the AU Assembly when adopting the resolution on the impact of sanctions and unilateral coercive measures on African Union member states. Often western powers impose economic and political pressure on African countries if African countries do not toe the western line.
While the African side thanked China for actively and efficiently supporting the continent during Covid-19, both sides agreed that the pandemic continues to pose serious threats to the recovery of the global economy.
Yet even more so, as the AU celebrates its milestone of twenty years, both sides committed to strengthening cooperation in areas of infrastructure development, investment, financing, agriculture, manufacturing, telecommunications, energy, the digital economy, health, the marine economy, vocational education, women and youth development. In particular, the Build-Operate-Transfer and Public-Private Partnership models will be employed to unlock economic development within the continent.
At the same time, while China fully supports and welcomes the African common trade area (AfCFTA), it highlighted the need to concentrate on the least developed countries as well.
At twenty, the AU can continue to count on its friend China to ensure its development and prosperity.
Seale has a PhD in Sino-Africa relations.